Title: Residential Energy Efficiency Potential: Delaware

Abstract

Energy used by Delaware single-family homes that can be saved through cost-effective improvements. Prepared by Eric Wilson and Noel Merket, NREL, and Erin Boyd, U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Policy and Systems Analysis.

The IECC was updated in 2006. As required in the Energy Conservation and Production Act of 1992, Title 3, DOE has a legislative requirement to "determine whether such revision would improve energy efficiency in residential buildings" within 12 months of the latest revision. This requirement is part of a three-year cycle of regular code updates. To meet this requirement, an independent review was completed using personnel experienced in building science but not involved in the code development process.

The focus of this report is to explore, in a speculative way, the energy saving potential associated with certain gas-related productive conservation measures for Nebraska homes. Currently, market available energy efficient natural gas furnaces, water heaters, and major appliances offer cost effective and technically feasible energy and dollar saving solutions for consumers. Additionally, in some cases, the retrofit of electronic spark igniters and flue dampers are also technically and economically prudent for the consumer. One key solution for Nebraska to minimize dollar exports for natural gas imports is to reduce natural gas consumption through the more efficient use of it,more » thereby making existing supplies available for other consumers. The State of Nebraska in cooperation with the federal government and the Nebraska natural gas industry can accelerate the widespread adoption of these energy conservation devices through reasonable regulatory policies and financial incentives, coupled with reliable public information on these measures. Nebraska can by the year 2000 reduce from 10 to 20% of its current residential natural gas consumption through the widespread adoption of these devices.« less

Today's 85 million US homes use $100 billion of fuel and electricity ($1150/home) annually. If their energy intensity (resource energy/ft/sup 2/) were still frozen at 1973 levels, they would use 19% more. With well-insulated houses, need for space heat is vanishing. Superinsulated Saskatchewan homes spend annually only $270 for space heat, $150 for water heat, and $400 for appliances, yet they cost only $2000 +/- $1000 more than conventional new homes. The concept of Cost of Conserved Energy (CCE) is used to rank conservation technologies for existing and new homes and appliances, and to develop supply curves of conserved energymore » and a least cost scenario. Calculations are calibrated with the BECA and other data bases. By limiting investments in efficiency to those whose CCE is less than current fuel and electricity prices, the potential residential plus commercial energy use in 2000 AD drops to half of that estimated by DOE, and the number of power plants needed drops by 200. For the whole buildings sector, potential savings by 2000 are 8 Mbod (worth $50B/year), at an average CCE of $10/barrel. 6 references, 17 figures, 2 tables.« less

Conserved energy is treated as a new energy source. Its potential is measured with supply curves that have been previously used only for economic assessments of tangible energy sources. Data on energy savings in individual homes and in the use of specific appliances are examined and then their conclusions are extrapolated to California residential sector. These estimates make it possible to compare the cost of energy conservation with the cost of searching for new conventional energy supplies or the cost of building new power plants. (MHR)

With the emergence of China as the world's largest energy consumer, the awareness of developing country energy consumption has risen. According to common economic scenarios, the rest of the developing world will probably see an economic expansion as well. With this growth will surely come continued rapid growth in energy demand. This paper explores the dynamics of that demand growth for electricity in the residential sector and the realistic potential for coping with it through efficiency. In 2000, only 66% of developing world households had access to electricity. Appliance ownership rates remain low, but with better access to electricity andmore » a higher income one can expect that households will see their electricity consumption rise significantly. This paper forecasts developing country appliance growth using econometric modeling. Products considered explicitly - refrigerators, air conditioners, lighting, washing machines, fans, televisions, stand-by power, water heating and space heating - represent the bulk of household electricity consumption in developing countries. The resulting diffusion model determines the trend and dynamics of demand growth at a level of detail not accessible by models of a more aggregate nature. In addition, the paper presents scenarios for reducing residential consumption through cost-effective and/or best practice efficiency measures defined at the product level. The research takes advantage of an analytical framework developed by LBNL (BUENAS) which integrates end use technology parameters into demand forecasting and stock accounting to produce detailed efficiency scenarios, which allows for a realistic assessment of efficiency opportunities at the national or regional level. The past decades have seen some of the developing world moving towards a standard of living previously reserved for industrialized countries. Rapid economic development, combined with large populations has led to first China and now India to emerging as 'energy giants', a phenomenon that is expected to continue, accelerate and spread to other countries. This paper explores the potential for slowing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in the residential sector in developing countries and evaluates the potential of energy savings and emissions mitigation through market transformation programs such as, but not limited to Energy Efficiency Standards and Labeling (EES&L). The bottom-up methodology used allows one to identify which end uses and regions have the greatest potential for savings.« less